Furniture-caster.



S. SZOSTAK 6: P. NATONiK.

FURNITURE CASTER.

APPLICATION FILED use. H. 1915.

STANISLA'W SZOSTAK AND PETER NAI'ONEK, 0F CRANBERRY, WEST VIRGINIA.

FURNITURE-CASTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 6, 1916.

Application filed December 14, 1915. Serial No. 66,778.

1 '0 ul/ whom. it may cum-own. 7

Be it known that we, STANISLAW SZOSTAK and PF/l'l-ll: Xvroxnn. subjects of the Emperor of Aristria-llungary,, residing at Cranberry in the county of Raleigh and State of \Yest' Virginia. have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Furniture-(asters. of which the following is a specification. 1

This invention relates to new and usefu improvements in furniture casters.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of a ball caster for articles of furniture such as chairs and adapted to normally allow the free movement of the furuiture o,'\'cr a supporting surface butbeing automatically locked against movement when under load conditions. such as the reception of an occupant within a chair.

further object is to provide a roller caster upon chair legs and whereby the chair is supported for free movement in any desired direction. the rollers being antifrictionallv positioned. an arrangenn-rnt betugpilso provided for locking the rollers to retr in the chair stationary when a weight or ocmipant is positioned therein.

Th'e present invention contemplates a revolnbly mounted hall supportingly positioned adjacent the bearing surface of 'a furniture leg. the ball being in normal contact \vith1 resiliently maintained anti-friction members but depressible in contact with a stop plate under conditions where a movement of the leg is undesirable.

ith these general objects in view andothers that will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described. illustrated in the accompanying drawings and then claimed.

In the drawings forming a part of this application and in which like designating characters refer to corresponding parts throughout the several views :-Figure 1 is a central longitudinal vertical sectional view through the device as normally arranged positioned upon a furniture leg, the

latter be ng shown partly in side elevation and broken away. F 1g. 2 1s a s1m1lar View with the elements positioned in the r locked arrangement as found when the leg is under load conditions. Fig. 3 is a horizontal transverse sectional View upon llne IIIIII employalole with the leg ofany piece of furniture such as a chair, the same is herewith illustrated positioned upon a cylindrical leg 10. The lower end of the leg 10 is tapered as at 11 and has an inverted frustoconical tubular ferrule 12 secured thereto and with a spherical bearing member or ball 1? revolubly arranged in the contracted open lower end thereof. it being understood that the diameter of the ball 13 is sufficient to prevent the ball from being removed out of theopen end of the ferrule and thatthe ball normally rests upon any desired sup porting surface such as H, whereby the leg may be readily moved over said surface. A face plate 15 is secured to the flatlower end of the leg 10 and is in die form of a circular disk seated within the ferrule 12. A dished stop plate 16 is screw-threaded within the ferrule 12 at a point slightly inwardly of the ball 13. whereby the inward movement of the said ball is limited while the lower face 17 of the said stop plate is roughened affording a frictional engaging surface for the ball 13. The stop plate 16 is also employed as a manner of cage, the. same being provided with a plurality of receiving perforations 18 therethrough within which anti-friction balls 19 are freely arranged in constant bearing engagement with the upper surface of the ball 13.

A hearing or cage block 20 is freely positioned within the ferrule 12 above the stop plate 16 and has a concave lower side 21 by means of which the cage block is shift-ably positioned upon the balls 19. A plurality of positioning springs 2'2 are tensioned between the upper side of the cage block 20 and the adjacent face of the plate 15 for normally projecting the balls 19 through the perforations 18 and thereby depressing the ball 13 anti-frictionally mounted out of contact with the plate 16. The springs 22 are, Secured at their lower ends to lugs projccting from the upper face of the cage block 20. The operation of the device will be clear from the present detailed description thereof, the springs 9-2 being of suiiicient strengthto retain ball 13 out of engagement with the stop plate 1&- under normal conditions such as for instance when the chair is unoccupied and at which times the chair may be readily moved upon the surface 14, the ball 13 freely revolving during such operation. lVh'cn the chair is occupied, the leg 10 is depressed, bringing the ball 13 into engagement with the roughened surface 17 of the stop plate 16 and. thus retaining the chair stationary and actingas a frictional break for the caster ball 13.

A serviceable device is thus provided which is cheap and easy to manufacture and which furnishes an anti-friction caster for furniture automatically positioned in locked arrangement at times when it is undesirable to shiftahly move the furniture about.

l Vhiie the form of the invention herein shown and described is what is believed to be the preferable embodiment thereof, it is nevertheless to be understood that minor changes may be made in the form, proportion and details of construction without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention hereinafter claimed.

Vi hat claimed as new is 1. Adevice of the class described comprising in combination with a furniture leg, a supporting ball mounted with anti-friction bearings revolubly journaled thereon a}nd a lock means for preventing rotation of t 1e hall.

2. A caster comprising in combination with a iurniture leg, a tapered ferrule setact With the said ball when the leg is under load conditions.

; porting ball revolubly mounted in the tapered open end of the said ferrule, a dishshaped limiting stop plate carried by the said ferrule spaced slightly inward from the said ball and having a lowerroughened surface and. provided with a plurality of cage perforations therethrough, ahd resiliently tensioned anti-friction members revolubly' mounted within the said perforations.

5. A caster comprising in combination with a furniture leg, a tapered ferrule secured to the -.f1'ee lower end thereof, a sup porting ball revolubly mounted in the tapered open end of the said ferrule, a dishshaped limiting stop plate carried by the said ferrule-spaced slightly inward from the said ball and having a lower roughened surface and provided with a plurality of cage i perforations therethrou'gh, spherical antifriction members freely positioned Within the said perforations, a cage block having a concave lower surface seated upon the said. anti-friction members and projection springs tensioned between the adjacent faces of the said cage block and end of the said leg.

In testimony whereof We aifix our slgnatures.

sTAmsLAW SZOSTAK. nprrnn NATONEK; 

